JP2684215B2 - Agricultural transport containers - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a container that can be transported while maintaining the freshness of agricultural products such as vegetables and fruits.

[Conventional technology and its problems]

When vegetables and fruits are imported from overseas to Japan, it takes 2-3 days for air transportation and 2-3 weeks for sea transportation. Agricultural products continue to undergo physiological changes such as respiration even after they are harvested, and will definitely deteriorate during transportation. Depending on the type of agricultural product, not only by sea but also by air, the product value may drop significantly when it arrives at the market.

In the case of transporting agricultural products in Japan, in order to solve the same problems as described above, the agricultural products are packaged with a plastic film, or at least one opening is covered with a gas-selective permeable polymer membrane, which is a closed container. PR in which agricultural products are stored in, cooled in vacuum, replaced with gas, and then sealed
AC system (PRAC is Pre Refrigerated Atmospheric Con
(Abbreviation of trol) has been adopted to prevent aging by suppressing physiological changes of agricultural products as much as possible.

However, when importing and exporting fresh agricultural products such as vegetables and fruits from abroad, fumigation gas is easily penetrated into the container because fumigation treatment is always performed at the receiving port (or airport) to prevent pests and pathogens. As described above, there are regulations such as forming several openings in the container. Especially in Japan, this regulation is strict.

For the above reasons, it was impossible to completely seal the produce container when importing and exporting fresh produce, especially when importing to Japan. Therefore, it was impossible to use the conventional plastic film packaging and PRAC system that are effective for keeping freshness for import and export in Japan.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In view of the above problems, the present invention is to solve the problem that fumigation cannot be performed by the conventional freshness maintaining method,
An object of the present invention is to provide a container for transporting agricultural products which can maintain the freshness of stored agricultural products while maintaining the form of the containers regulated for fumigation treatment.

[Means for solving the problem]

The above-mentioned object is a container for transporting agricultural products, which has gas-tightness and is gas-substituted with a gas containing carbon dioxide after the agricultural products are put therein. A container for transporting agricultural products, characterized in that

[Action]

In the agricultural product transportation container configured as described above, even if carbon dioxide gas was gradually diffused from the opening formed for fumigation during transportation, an amount corresponding to the amount was provided inside. The concentration of carbon dioxide gas in the container is always kept almost constant by being supplemented by the carbon dioxide gas releasing means. Therefore, the freshness of agricultural products can be maintained.

〔Example〕

 Next, embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container according to an embodiment of the present invention. The container (1) is made of aluminum vapor-deposited inside a cardboard box and is airtight. Side (7) of container (1)
In (7), two openings (3) each having a diameter of 3 cm for fumigation are formed in accordance with the regulations of Japanese plant inspection, two openings each, a total of four openings. (2) is a vinyl-coated cloth tape for closing the lid (8) of the container (1), which is almost airtight.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the container (3) shown in FIG. (4) is the stored agricultural products, (5) is dry ice as a carbon dioxide releasing agent, (6) is a partition plate between the agricultural products (4) and dry ice (5), where the agricultural products are at low temperature An aluminum vapor-deposited partition plate having a heat insulating property and a heat reflecting property was used so as not to cause a trouble. There is a gap (9) around the partition plate, from which carbon dioxide gas moves toward the agricultural product storage chamber (10).

In order to transport produce using the container (1) above,
First, dry ice (5) and produce (4) in the container (1)
And tape (2) was applied. The entire container (1) was placed in a vacuum tank and evacuated, and then a mixed gas of carbon dioxide gas of about 50%, nitrogen gas of about 45% and oxygen of about 5% was introduced. Of the introduced gas, the amount of carbon dioxide gas is in the range of 20% to 100%,
Select according to the agricultural products to be stored.

 After the above processing is completed, the container (1) is transported.

When grapes were transported from Taiwan in accordance with this example, the rate of grain loss and damage was reduced from 50% to 5% as compared with the conventional case where the grapes were just stored.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is, of course, not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made based on the technical concept of the present invention.

For example, in the embodiment, although the produce is stored in the container and then vacuumed, depending on the type of produce, the gas may be introduced and replaced without vacuuming. For example, in the case of lettuce etc., by vacuuming,
Since ethylene existing in the center is completely removed and the introduced gas also permeates well, the effect of preventing deterioration during transportation is remarkable, but in the case of apples etc., the gas can be kept for a while without vacuuming. It is sufficient to eliminate the air inside the container by introducing it and to replace the gas.

Although corrugated cardboard with aluminum vapor deposition was used as the container (1) in the example, any material having airtightness may be used,
Plastics such as polyethylene can also be used.

As the carbon dioxide gas releasing agent, another substance that generates carbon dioxide gas may be used instead of dry ice. In that case, the partition plate (6) does not need to have a heat insulating property or a heat reflecting property.

Further, in the embodiment, the carbon dioxide releasing agent is provided at the bottom of the container (1), but it may be provided at the lid or the side wall.

In the embodiment, a gap is provided around the partition plate (6), but an opening may be formed in the partition plate (6) instead, and depending on the area, the carbon dioxide gas agricultural product storage chamber (10) is provided. Adjust the movement amount of.

〔The invention's effect〕

Since the agricultural product transportation container of the present invention has the above-described configuration, the carbon dioxide concentration in the container is always maintained at a substantially constant value even if the carbon dioxide gas is gradually diffused from the opening during transportation. That is, the freshness of the agricultural products being transported can be maintained even in a container having an opening for fumigation.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a container according to an embodiment of the present invention in a closed state, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the container shown in FIG. In the figure, (1) …… Container (3) …… Opening (5) …… Dry ice

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A container for transporting agricultural products, which has gas-tightness and is gas-substituted with a gas containing carbon dioxide after the agricultural products are put in, a fumigation opening is provided on a wall surface of the container, and carbon dioxide is provided inside the container. A container for transporting agricultural products, which is provided with a discharging means. 2. The container for transporting agricultural products according to claim 1, wherein the carbon dioxide releasing means is dry ice. 3. The container for transporting agricultural products according to claim 2, further comprising a heat insulating plate having aluminum vapor deposited between the agricultural products and the carbon dioxide releasing means.